Ex-Cannabis Regulator Joins Marijuana Software Startup & More Strategic Leadership Changes In Weed Sector

As Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference returns on September 13-14 to Chicago, gathering top CEOs, investors and leaders in the industry, let's scroll through the latest leadership changes within the space.

GrowGeneration Taps New CFO & More Leadership Changes 

Hydroponic innovator, GrowGeneration Corp. GRWG announced Friday a series of organizational developments in the areas of accounting and finance and corporate affairs. This realignment is part of our ongoing efforts to better position the company for future growth and drive long-term shareholder value.

Effective August 12, 2022, Jeff Lasher resigned as chief financial officer of the company and, concurrently, Greg Sanders, previously vice president and corporate controller, has been promoted to the role of chief financial officer.

“Greg has emerged as one of our company’s brightest leaders through his contributions to the growth and success of GrowGen over the past several years. I am confident in his abilities to excel in the CFO role to deliver strong financial performance over the long term,” said Darren Lampert, chairman and chief executive officer.

Separately, Stephen Kozey, previously vice president of legal, is being promoted to general counsel and will oversee all legal and compliance activities for the business, as well as GrowGen’s human resource department. He will report to CEO Darren Lampert.

“Stephen has proven to be an outstanding addition to GrowGen since joining the Company last year. He has a sharp legal mind with tremendous experience at preeminent law firms, and he has developed an excellent sense of our people, business, and industry,” said Lampert.

“These most recent developments are part of our broader efforts to more fully realize the longer-term opportunities that lie ahead and leverage the deep talent that exists within GrowGen,” Lampert concluded.

Fire & Flower Makes Changes In Board Of Directors 

Fire & Flower Holdings Corp. FAF FFLWF confirmed Friday that Guillaume Léger has tendered his resignation from the board of directors of the company effective August 11, 2022. Léger was elected to the board of the company at its annual general and special meeting of shareholders, pursuant to the terms of an investor rights agreement between the company and ACT dated August 7, 2019 (the "IRA").

Pursuant to the terms of the IRA, ACT has designated Suzanne Poirier as its nominee to the board to replace Guillaume Léger. The board intends to appoint Poirier to the board effective August 11, 2022 to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Léger.

"On behalf of the Board of Directors, I welcome Suzanne to the Board as Fire & Flower and Alimentation Couche-Tard continue their strategic partnership," said Donald Wright, chair of the board.

Poirier is senior vice president of operations for ACT and is based in Montreal, Quebec. She joined ACT in 2018 as vice president and controller and since held various roles with progressively increasing responsibilities including global finance and supply chain optimization and VP of North America Operations Excellence. Prior to ACT, she held the position of vice president of financial planning, at the Canadian National Railway, and senior vice president of finance & strategic planning at Sobeys.

Halo Collective Appoints Katie Field As Chairman Of The Board

Halo Collective Inc. HALO HCANF (Germany: A9KN) revealed Friday the appointment of Katie Field, chief executive officer of Halo, to the chairman of the board of directors of the company, effective immediately. Current chairman Ryan Kunkel has resigned from the board to focus on other professional endeavors. To the knowledge of the company, Field is the second woman to serve as chairman and CEO of a publicly traded cannabis company, the first being Kim Rivers of Trulieve TRUL, TCNNF. 

Cassidy McCord, the director, said, "It was an obvious decision to appoint Katie as Chairman of the Board. Her demonstrated accomplishments and female perspective are exactly what Halo requires at this critical time. With Katie at the helm, we are confident that Halo has the right leader to be the premier west coast-focused cannabis company, and to leverage our competitive strengths to pursue other emerging pathways to wellness. As important, with the prudent and timely actions she has taken to focus the strategy on the core business while eliminating significant cost, Katie has put the Company firmly on track to reaccelerate revenue and to return to profitability."

Ex Massachusetts Cannabis Regulator Joins Medical Marijuana Software Startup

The first chair of the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission, Steve Hoffman, who resigned from this position in April is now joining a private cannabis company, reported The Boston Globe.

Hoffman told the Globe that he has joined the board of EO Care Inc., a Boston-headquartered startup, that is getting ready to launch a software platform connecting medical marijuana patients with cannabis physicians.

“As marijuana becomes more normalized and eventually federally legalized, I think we’ll see the medical community become more engaged,” Hoffman said. “But I’m not optimistic that will happen very quickly, and I think the private sector, in the interim, has an opportunity to bring better science and medical and clinical support to medical marijuana patients.”

Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference

Meet a slew of cannabis execs, entrepreneurs, CEOs, investors, et al. at the September Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference, Sept. 13-14 in Chicago. Get your tickets HERE and reserve your spot at the Palmer House Hotel HERE.

Photo: Benzinga Edit; Source: Shutterstock